The much-anticipated return of smiles and the enticing aroma of pancakes to White Rock's fire hall is being celebrated as "a great success."
The Local 2407 crew welcomed an estimated 300-plus hungry fans to the Pacific Avenue hall on Dec. 7 for its Breakfast With Santa event 鈥� its first such affair since the pandemic ground all and sundry to an abrupt halt in 2020.
"We got lots of the community out, lots of smiles on the faces of kids and parents alike," Scott Pearson, charity assistant for the White Rock Firefighters Charity Association, said Thursday (Dec. 12).
"It was a lot of fun."
In addition to a meal of pancakes, sausages, bacon and beverages, the breakfast event 鈥� held from 9 a.m. till 1 p.m. 鈥� offered visits with Santa, as well as collected toys and raised funds for the WRFCA, which supports local charities as well as the BC Professional Fire Fighters' Burn Fund.
Pearson said just over $2,000 was raised, and a small mountain of toys to help brighten Christmas for kids in need was donated, to be distributed through Sources.
Charity head Connor McMahon noted the breakfast is the association's biggest event of the year, and those who turned out were "pretty happy it was back."
With a well-polished formula for success in hand 鈥� developed and honed by more senior crew members over the years since the breakfast launched 鈥� the biggest challenge, McMahon said, was knowing how many people to expect to return following the hiatus. Pre-COVID, it was not unusual for the breakfast event to draw more than 600 attendees to the fire hall.
To be safe, the crew planned for "around 500" this year, and McMahon said the result was well-received. Next year, he noted, will be "bigger and better."
Pearson agreed.
"We're really happy with how everything turned out and looking forward to ramping it up next year."
The pair thanked everyone who attended, as well as sponsors who helped make it possible.
Next up for the charity association is another much-anticipated tradition: their by-donation Christmas tree-chip.
It's set to return to the Centennial Arena parking lot (14600 North Bluff Rd.) from 9 a.m. till 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 5, as well as for a few hours on the afternoon of Jan. 4.
Last year's tree-chip event raised just over $4,600.
